To know the origin of this drink, date back several centuries, the pre-Hispanic Mexico. Legend has it that in the state of Jalisco, in the midst of a storm several Indians took refuge in a cave. One ray fell on the mixtures, and they were to burn for several hours. The storm passed … and the wind spread a pleasant aroma, soft and sweet. One of the people taking a piece of burnt agave, took him to the mouth, tasted it and felt its sweet taste. The native shared with his neighbors his prized discovery, revealing the qualities of the plant.
Later, an Indian forgotten the delicious juice left for a few days. When realising the liquid again, watched in amazement that his scent was different and bubbling forming a thick white foam. The taste had changed, the liquid separated from his foam was ready to begin to consume it. Whoever tried it, experienced euphoria, and interpreted it as a gift from the goddess Mayahuel.
This goddess is represented in the Mexica codices feeding their children with 400 breasts, their offspring were not others than the Centzon-totochtin, patrons of drunkenness.
For centuries, the Aztecs, the delicious elixir was the exclusive use of the hierarchs and priests, which gave a good account in religious events and other festivities.
Moctezuma II was discovered that a European, more specifically to Hernán Cortés, the effects of “sacred” beverage. Was it because the king had taken the Spanish conquerer, by one of the gods of their pantheon, Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent. The one who left them by sea, promising his return.
The Spanish decided to distill to purify drinking and get a stronger product, yielding the so-called mezcal wine or “agauardiente”. In the seventeenth century, were introduced Spanish distillation systems, tequila and mezcal became new sources of wealth, whose production was controlled by the conquerors.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Spanish encouraged the production of agave and laid the foundation for the development of characteristic product of the area.
Currently, it is still made from fermented and distilled from the juice extracted from agave, in particular the so-called blue agave (tequilana Weber). It is a product with designation of origin, considering only the drink Tequila from five states of Mexico: Guanajuato, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, Nayarit and of course in the State of Jalisco. It is without doubt one of the most popular beverage worldwide, and represents Mexico all over the World. It is a requirement to be called tequila, the drink is manufactured in Mexico and contain at least 51% of sugars from the agave, although tequilas contain 100% pure.
In the mixed tequilas, agave syrup is mixed with corn or sugar cane. Pure tequila producers placed the legend “100% agave” on the labels of the bottles like this in the official Mexican standard, this means that this product is produced with 100% agave and so have the legend on the label and is also certified by the Tequila Regulatory Council.
Pick a good tequila, and you know salt and lemon, and toast to Mexico, or it will be better, if you taste in Mexico, at any of its beaches and scenaries, wherever place you choose is an excellent place for a toast.
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